The movie Slap Shot documented a minor league hockey team that is down on its luck. The Charlestown Chiefs are a losing Federal League hockey team whose games are poorly attended. In order to bring back fans, the team often participated in publicity stunts that were meant to fill the seats. As a means to renew local interest, the team resorted to playing gritty, hard-nosed hockey. This type of violence was meant to appeal to the working class of the city-Charlestown was a declining factory town and the fate of the hockey franchise was dependent upon the fate of the industry in the city. Eventually, their coach plays the Hanson’s and quickly discovers that their aggressive fighting style excited the fans (i.e. Broad Street Bullies.) Thus, he began to reshape the team in the Hansons' image, which saw attendance quickly increase. Capitalizing on this growing interest, he plants a false story with e that a Florida retirement community was interested in purchasing the team in order to bolster the confidence of the players and to sell the team. Playing in their last game, the Syracuse Bulldogs forfeit, thus giving the Federal League championship to the Chiefs. The team celebrates by parading around the ice with the championship trophy. Slap Shot embodies the anarchist values of the rugged 1970‘s and the rampant counterculture of a generation whose values and norms of behavior differed substantially from those of mainstream society. As a historical document, this film provides a valuable insight into a rebellious era. Much of the youth during this time-and anyone else, in fact-had plenty to groan about regarding the decade's struggle. Using hockey as a tool for rebellion, it illustrated, both in a socio-political standpoint, but and in... ... middle of paper ... ... life today- washed up players, poor management threatening to relocate a struggling franchise, life on the road, scores of crazed fans (i.e. the “Puck Bunnies”), and the challenges away from the rink. Slap Shot effectively documented the struggle that all minor league hockey players possessed during a tough time in hockey history. Furthermore, Slap Shot reinforced my perception that sports is a positive experience. Slap Shot is relatable as it documented the love for the game we all possess. Even though the Chiefs were not a great team, many of the players still played simply for their love of the game. While I’m sure they all had aspirations to be successful, playing the game they love with their friends was the most rewarding experience ever. Ultimately, Slap Shot documented the underdog that overcame adversity by changing strategies and personnel.
High school sports can have a tremendous effect on not only those who participate but the members of the community in which they participate. These effects can be positive, but they can also be negative. In the book Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger shows that they are often negative in communities where high school sports “keep the town alive” due to the social pressure. In this way, Friday Night Lights gives insight into the effects of high school football being the backbone of a community, revealing that the fate of the individual football players are inadvertently determined by the actions of the townspeople.
Fortunately for the NHL, they had/ have the Chicago Blackhawks, the Franchise to bring hockey back. The Chicago Blackhawks started the 2012-2013 series with a 24 point streak, meaning that they went 24 games with at least 1 point gained in each game. As many people don’t pay attention until the season has hit 20 or so games, the Hawks, had come to break the lockout of that particular attention span causing more attention towards not only the NHL , but for the Blackhawks themselves. As fans joined the progressing bandwagon, the NHL was gratefully coming out of the “drought” with numourus sponsorships with companies, and gaining profit from their
In “Its Time to Think About Visors,” Dryden exposes the fact that the stereotypes of risk in sport have pushed athletes to continue to compromise safety even with advancements in equipment worn. Dryden first explores this while talking about players from the minor leagues who have worn visors for all of their lives reaching the NHL and then stopping, stating, “Then most decide to play as they had never had before, with no facial protection at all.” This shows that even with athletes that have had this safety all of their lives they decide to stop when they reach the NHL because they see the stereotype created by the fans watching that push these players to risk their safety in order to bring a new excitement to the game. Even though the new rookies have been protected by visors the amount of influence of the huge fans of hockey pressure into danger that before they were safe from. In addition to this Dryden adds how there is appeal towards the dangers of life expressing, “People are attracted to risk. Near misses are thrilling.” This demonstrates that audiences don’t want to see players seriously injured but instead the close calls that come with sport and the smaller injuries that some equipment has gotten rid
“Molson asks owners to stop violence” Chara, Zdeno. The Canadian PressIntervew. Sportsnet, 10/03/2011. Print. 31 Jul 2011. .
Americans have become addicted to gaining quick rewards of satisfaction through sports and action because they want to be entertained thoroughly without needing to ponder any hidden meaning so it doesn’t take away from the pure entertainment of the action. In his time, Bradbury was fearful of the way that the television’s empty shows were in invading every home in America. The culture in the novel demands for “everything (to be boiled) down to the rag, the snap ending” (Bradbury 52), leaving nothing for the viewer to ponder; they would rather enjoy themselves “a solid entertainment” (Bradbury 58). The same is true in today’s movies and shows, in which most must contain many action scenes in order to keep the viewer’s attention, and the meaning and symbols must be clearly spelled out for them. This is also why Bradbury includes sports as being the main focus of schools in his story, since th...
The most memorable moment in hockey history came thirty-four years ago with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. The Americans defeating the dominant Soviet team at the Olympics was not only an important triumph for USA Hockey, but for the entire nation. Contrary to popular belief, the underdog win was not only the result of a miracle; it was also the result of a hard-working team led by Coach Herb Brooks. With increasingly negative views on the position of the United States in the Cold War, the Miracle on Ice and the gold medal win lifted the spirits of the nation and brought hockey into the American spotlight.
The novel Our Guys, written by Bernard Lefkowitz, is a very dynamic story about the heinous actions of a dozen middle-class athletes, from a small New York suburb, against a defenseless mentally handicapped girl. Lefkowitz describes a brutal gang rape involving a baseball bat and broomhandle, which took place in this unsuspecting town, by these upstanding young group of boys, as the town would describe them. Lefkowitz looks at the incident which took place and then examines the “jock clique” sub-culture that allowed such atrocities to happen, and spawned the scandal to cover it up.
on day in early june gablin was sitting in the dugout of the san jose sunbirds stadium remembering last season. It was the eighteenth inning of the second game of the Western Division play-offs against the Santa Ana Lionettes and Gamblins idol. Carol Spanks was at the plate Spanks lined the ball to the left of third base a shot lit so hard that it pulled the glove off Gamblins hand and rolled onto the artificial turf Gamblin scrambled for the ball spun around and threw her idol out at first base. It was she thought the best play she ever made.
In this essay I will be looking at the topic of the countercultural movement of the 1960’s through counterculture film. The 1960’s were an extremely interesting time in history not only in the United States but all over the western world, as we saw the rise of the counterculture generation. The counter was a group of movements focused on achieving personal and cultural liberation and was embraced in many different ways by the decade’s young people. I have chosen this topic as the 60’s stand out for me as a revolutionary and often misrepresented period in history. The films I have chosen to look at are The Baader Meinhof Complex from director Uli Edel, Woodstock from Michael Wadleigh, Pirate Radio from Richard Curtis, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas from director Terry Gilliam. I chose to analyse these films as I believe they clearly demonstrate the social and political issues of the 1960’s and societies response to them.
The defining moment of the importance of hockey in Canada was “The Goal of the Century” in 1972. It was the evening of September 28th; the site was Moscow – U.S.S.R. In the midst of the Cold War, a game-winning goal by Canadian hockey player Paul Henderson at the end of the third period with only 34 seconds left on the clock vaulted Canada to a victory at the Summit Series and put them on top of the hockey world. The heart and character of Canadian hockey internationally began. “The exact moment of that spectacular goal has become a reference point in our national collective consciousness.”- R. Eagleson (Foreword). It was the climatic goal watched by almost every Canadian, and their pride swelled to amazing heights. Hockey is more than just a game in Canada, it is a celebrated history. Hockey is Canada’s identity. “Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience in the New World. In a land so inescapably and inho...
Theberge, Nancy. "'It’s Part of the Game’: Physicality and the Production of ender in Women’s Hockey.” In The Gendered Society Reader, edited by Michael S. Kimmel, Amy Aronson, and Amy Kaler, 73-80. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press, 2011.
March 8th, 2004 was supposed to be nothing more than a competitive and action packed regular season hockey game between feuding rivals, the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks. The game slipped away from the Canucks, with the Avalanche up 6-2 heading into the third period. The heated contested already had its fair share of fighting majors, but an incident that happened late in the third period shocked the more than 18,000 fans in attendance at Rogers Arena, the hockey community, and North America. After failing to instigate a fight with Avalanche forward Steve Moore, Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks grabbed the back of Moore’s jersey, landed a vicious punch to the back of Moore’s head, before slamming him face first on the ice and falling on top of him. Moore had to be helped off the ice on a stretcher, and has never returned to the NHL. Bertuzzi, on the other hand, was suspended for 20 games by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and is still playing in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings. This is one of many examples of deviance in sports, and how a win-at-all costs mentality can drive athletes to act in extreme manners. As a result of the growing commercialization of sports, athletes are socialized at young ages to believe that winning is everything, and that stopping at nothing will help you succeed. Athletes will do almost anything to gain the upper hand in their respective sports, whether it is through engaging in excessive on-field violence or through the use of performance enhancing drugs, excessively committing themselves to their sport, or by violating league rules and policies. In sports, deviance is viewed in a different light than in the outside world. As professional athletes strive towards conforming to spor...
Geoffrey Canada’s characters in Fist Stick Knife Gun use violence to increase their status and honor, and to make themselves stand out from the rest of their group as being more powerful. Canada’s violence is necessary to his characters as it is their only way to distinguish different people’s power. Canada’s characters also use violence to save their lives, as the adults in their life cannot protect the children. Canada writes: “status was a major issue for boys on the block” (Canada 18), a very blunt yet compelling statement that describes the importance of “status” for the boys on the block. “On the block,” respect and power means everything, as social order is decided by these qualities. Canada argues that in the South Bronx this “status” and social order could only be decided ...
Sink M. (2002, January 31). HOCKEY; Youth Game Postponed After Fight by Parents. Retrieved November 1, 2010, from New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/01/sports/hockey-youth-game-postponed-after-fight-by-parents.html
The title of the film reflects not only the history of violence of the protagonist, but the history of violence in America. This simple movie gracefully indicates how movie violence prevails as a reflection of American culture. “The History of Violence” is not just another gut-spilling movie about a man running from his past. Instead, it serves as a window into understanding the desire for movie violence in America. While critics argue that the movie is over-contextualized, the average American may argue that the movie is not precise enough. However, the beauty of the movie resides in its complex ambiguity.